the Delamere crowd detracts from The Courteeners homecoming show

Third Apparition: 'Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill, shall come against him. Macbeth: 'That will never be. Who can impress the forest, bid the tree, unfix his earth-bound root?'

I can answer that... a 5,500-capacity sell-out crowd of Courteeners fans, who had surged forward to secure tickets in a record 38 minutes; the fastest selling forest act since the Forestry Commission started hosting gigs eleven years back. If there was a claim to be staked or a land to be conquered, it would be fair to say that the Middleton indie-rockers had lambasted all possible contenders at Delamere Forest this weekend.

The Courteeners are the latest headlining act to show their support to the work being carried out by the Forestry Commission across the UK; profits from each alfresco show or mini-festival would be channelled back in to such forests as Dalby, Delamere and Thetford and would help to support the conservation, restoration and regeneration work that goes in to the Forestry Commission's management of almost a million hectares of land across the UK. With temperatures in the mid to late twenties, the scene had been set for a perfect evening of hazy sunshine and high-octane scores.

Support came from Stoke indie-rockers All The Young; the 4 piece's publicity machine promising to deliver a 'brave new frontier of indie rock 'n' roll.' I likened this band to modern-day Marty McFlys (from the film Back To The Future), complete with sunglasses at their very own In the Forest dance; my reasoning being that their performance had much of the same effect on me as Marty's rendition of 'Johnny B. Good' – slightly uncomfortable to watch at first, but admittedly pretty bloody good. The source of my discomfort had not been the fault of the band I hasten to add; more the unsportsmanlike behaviour of certain members of the highly-inebriated crowd. Yes, we've all come to see the main act, but a large number of the genuine music-lovers amongst us can also appreciate what comes first. Patience, it seemed, had bypassed a few people by this point; along with self-awareness, general motor skills and anger management techniques.

The band performed a pleasing set, which for the most part appeared to enthuse and energise the crowd as they lounged amongst the picturesque surroundings of the Cheshire countryside. Their set included tracks such as 'Welcome Home', 'Arcane' and my personal favourite, 'The First Time'. The band are set to support Morrissey in their hometown this week, before embarking on a series of headlining slots across the UK in the coming weeks. I would recommend a listen of their recently released 6-track live EP, recorded at Glasgow's King Tuts a few months ago. As the sun went down, spirits did not and the majority of the crowd continued to show their appreciation for the Stoke natives. I expect to hear a lot more from this band in future; not least with the likes of Courteeners' front man Liam Fray and Morrissey in their corner.

And so to the main protagonists of this piece; The Courteeners. This would be my third time reviewing the Mancunian 4-piece, so it would be fair to say that I am indeed a fan of their work, particularly their debut album 'St Jude' (2008). This album spawned possibly my favourite double-ended encore from a live band, in the tracks 'Not Nineteen Forever' and 'What Took You So Long'. Many a cherished memory of mine has been firmly rooted in a muddied field somewhere, happily jumping along to these two fan favourites and they never seem to lose their allure. I first reviewed the indie rockers around five years ago in the more intimate surroundings of Parr Hall in Warrington. From then, the band has gone from strength to strength, with regular main stage festival slots and a number of sold out arena dates across the UK.

Their most notable headlining show to date being at the MEN Arena in Manchester, in front of a sell-out crowd of 16,000 fans. I had been looking forward to seeing the band in the perhaps more aesthetically-pleasing surroundings of Delamere Forest and reviews of shows so far had all been very positive and complimentary.

My dreams of pleasing aesthetics were swiftly dashed however; again, not at the fault of the band or venue, but of a large proportion of the overly-intoxicated crowd. There were a number of security personnel in attendance, along with several officers from Cheshire Police, but the scale of this show and potential for disruptive behaviour had clearly been grossly underestimated. Attendees were permitted to enter the venue with up to 2 litres of alcohol on their person; it became clear however, that several members of the crowd had been drinking a lot more and for a lot longer than that.

The band opened with the aptly-named 'The Opener', followed by 'Cavorting' and another of my favourites, 'Acrylic'. The band was obviously in high spirits, basking in the realisation of their record-breaking achievements with the sale of this show. I have often described Fray as the archetypal show man; he commands the stage and the crowd just lap up his swagger, tonight was no different. Ever the champion of good, solid guitar-heavy rock bands, Fray had personally selected the support act for this show; nice to see a bit of solidarity and creative nurturing, in the otherwise cynical world of the business which they call show. Tracks from second album 'Falcon' (2010) followed, including: 'Cross My Heart & Hope to Fly', 'Good Times Are Calling' and 'You Overdid it Doll'. Fray mused that the third track couldn't have been more apt for tonight's proceedings; a nod to my earlier observations regarding some members of the crowd.

A couple of new tracks got an airing, including 'Save Rosemary in Time' and also a cover of The Strokes' track 'Someday'. The latter being particularly well received. Despite only having released two albums, this band has never suffered from lack of support or passion from their fans, gestures often specifically aimed at the inimitable front man. The crowd sang along to almost every track word for word; not surprising therefore that Fray felt the need to repeatedly express his thanks to his adoring public. I just wish that for some, passion had not spilt over in to aggression; there were several violent incidents that I bore witness to, which just created an unpleasant atmosphere for me, where I didn't feel able to fully relax at all throughout the set. Certainly not until the final two songs, where by that point I had clearly become accustomed to the sight of bloodied T-shirts and security personnel grappling grown men to the ground. Memorable tracks for me came in the form of 'That Kiss' and 'Take Over The World', the latter of which seeming to possess much-needed sedating properties for the crowd.

The Courteeners are playing at V Festival this summer and if you haven't already, I would highly recommend that you check this band out... but if you cast your eye over the horizon and notice what appears to be a forest fast approaching on you, I'd make a hasty exit... it might be the Delamere crowd ready for round two.

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